Heart failure (HF) is defined as the inability of the heart to supply peripheral organs with sufficient blood flow. It may be characterized by a hyperadrenergic state whereby increased systemic levels of norepinephrine (NE) and increased local spillover of catecholamines occurs. The condition afflicts increasingly more people each year and is a common end-stage of many cardiac diseases and conditions including myocardial infarction, pressure/volume overload, viral myocarditis, toxic cardiomyopathy, valve failure, and other abnormalities. The resultant myocardial damage, in conjunction with neurohormonal and cytokine activation, stimulates chamber remodeling which is the initial phase of HF development. The remodeling process results in decreased overall myocardial efficiency and eventual progression to clinical HF. To date, no cure for the condition exists, thus early diagnosis is a key factor in its management and long-term prognosis. An imaging agent that identifies subjects in early HF would thus enable treatment application and life-style improvements for patients living with the condition.
Accordingly, improved methods, systems, and apparatuses are needed for the synthesis and administration of imaging agents (e.g., for imaging the heart). In addition, while numerous synthetic methods exist for the preparation of PET-based imaging agents, they generally require multiple synthetic (e.g., labeling a compound with an imaging moiety) and/or purification steps, have low chemical fidelity, and/or have low chemical efficiency. Improved synthetic methods and compositions are thus needed for preparing such compounds.